B.A., B. Com., B.Sc., B.B.A.

3rd Semester

English
Lessons Summaries
Unit- 1

IN LONDON - M.K. Gandhi

Unit – II

YES, WE CAN (Speech) - Barack Obama

A LEADER SHOULD KNOW HOW TO MANAGE FAILURE (Interview)

- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

Unit – III

NELSON MANDELA’S INTERVIEW WITH LARRY KING

Unit – IV

JRD TATA’S INTERVIEW WITH T.N. NINAN

Unit – V

YOU’VE GOT TO FIND WHAT YOU LOVE (Speech) - Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

***
 UG III Semester English By Pavan Kommaddi
Lecturer in English
Unit- 1
IN LONDON
- M.K. Gandhi
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 Oct, 1869 – 30 Jan,
1948) was the prominent leader of the Indian independence
movement in British-ruled India. He is better known as the
Mahatma, or Great soul. He is also called Bapu in India. He
is unofficially called the father of nation.
He is most famous for his philosophy of nonviolence. He was assassinated months
later at age 78.
ABOUT THE LESSON:
‘In London’ is an extract taken from the autobiography of Gandhi titled
“My Experiments with Truth” being translated into English by Mahadev Desai
(Originally written in Gujarati “Sathya Sothanai”). The book is in five parts,
beginning with his birth, up until the year 1921. This lesson is taken from the
chapter 12 of this book. He went to England to pursue his law degree in the
year 1888. This lesson gives us an insight into the mind of young Gandhi, when
he was a student in London.

SUMMARY

When the lesson begins, Gandhiji decides that he should not trouble
others. He is a vegetarian and wants to cultivate (improve) a few
accomplishments (activities) which makes one a decent gentleman in London. As
he decides that Bombay clothes are unsuitable for English society, he purchases
new clothes at the Army and Navy Stores. He purchases a chimney-pot hat, asks
his brother to send him a “double watch chain of gold”. He also learns the art of
tying himself. He watches himself before a huge mirror to put his hair in the
correct fashion.

As if it were not enough, he further takes coaching for dancing, French

language, and Elocution. He wastes 3 pounds for purchasing a Violin too in order
to cultivate an ear for western music. But he utterly fails to learn all these things.

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 UG III Semester English By Pavan Kommaddi
Lecturer in English
Gandhi, however, gets realization by undergoing introspection (Self-
examination) while he is reading the speech of Pitt from the book, Bell’s
“Standard Elocutionist”. He thinks that he is not going to spend his life time in
England. This thought makes him realize that he is wasting money. From that time
onwards he struggles for austerity (Moderation) and frugality (Miserliness). He
exercises strict economy in all aspects.

As his living with a family involves him in a lot of unnecessary expenditure,

he decides to take a couple of rooms on his own account. The rooms he selects
are low in price and also very close to the place of business which he can reach
on foot in half an hour. This also keeps him physically healthy. Gandhi knows that
the Bar examinations did not require great study. On a friend’s advice Gandhi
decides to pass the London Matriculation, though it is very difficult to clear. He
acquires a taste for Latin, French, appears in Matriculation though he fails in the
first attempt.

Gandhi feels that his way of living doesn’t fit to the modest means of his
family. So he adjusts himself with one room instead of two and cooks food at
home and manages to live on a shilling and three pence per a day. That is a
period of intensive study too. Plain living saves him plenty of time and he passes
his examination.

Gandhi says at the end that he found lot of joy by leading this modest life
which by no means a dreary one.

***

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 UG III Semester English By Pavan Kommaddi
Lecturer in English
Unit – II (Speech)
YES, WE CAN
- Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama, born on 4th August, 1961, is an

American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the
44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He
was a member of the Democratic Party.
Obama was the first African-American president of the United States. He
previously served as a U.S. senator from Illinois from 2005 to 2008 and as
an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004.
ABOUT THE LESSON:
This lesson is the speech made by Obama following his victory in 2008 at the
night when he was elected the president of the United States of America.
Barack Obama gave his victory speech for unity among the people of U.S.A. at
Grant Park in his home city of Chicago, on November 4, 2008, before an
estimated crowd of 2, 40,000.
SUMMARY

Obama was the first to win presidential election of America from the black race
belonging to African American. So in his speech he expressed his thanks to the
people for voting him to power.

Obama mentioned that the result of the election and his winning was the answer
to all the questions of the critics.

The answer was given by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and
Republican, black and white, Hispanic, Asian, Native Americans, gay, disabled
and not disabled.

He was happy with the result of the election. He treated that victory as it
belonged to the people of America. He said that people supported him not to
win an election. They had a cause. They supported him as they understood the
enormity (seriousness) of the task that lied ahead. Obama said that he knew he
had to face many challenges, wars, financial crisis, and saving the planet earth.

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 UG III Semester English By Pavan Kommaddi
Lecturer in English
He remembered the soldiers of America who were working in the deserts of Iraq
and the mountains of Afghanistan risking their lives for the country.

He particularly praised 106 year old woman named Ann Nixon

Cooper of Atlanta who had cast her vote by standing in queue
along with others on the scorching heat.

Though she belonged to the blacks, she was determined to cast her vote. She
was able to inspire Obama. He has taken this old woman as example to explain
how America developed from an era of racism to reformed one, from a period
of denial of rights to woman to getting the equal rights. He sincerely said that he
would offer more honest service to people. He promised the Americans to take
them to the destination.

Obama wanted the people who disagree with his decisions or policies taken as
president to cooperate with him and he was ready to mend the same if
necessary. He said that they proved once more that the true strength of their
nation comes from the enduring power of their ideals: democracy, liberty,
opportunity and unyielding hope. He exhorted (encouraged) the Americans to
work hard and open doors of opportunity to the future generation; to restore
prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim (recover) the American
dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, they are one.

The primary themes of Obama’s speech were ‘Hope’ and ‘Change’. He used the
expression, “Yes, We can” repeatedly for specific purpose. It shows his
determination to reach his goals. This expression indicates the spirit and energy
that come out of his victory.

By uttering ‘Yes, We can’ he said that he would overcome the challenges and
attain the dreams of America.

***

4
 UG III Semester English By Pavan Kommaddi
Lecturer in English
Unit – II (Interview)
A LEADER SHOULD KNOW HOW TO MANAGE FAILURE
- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was an Indian
aerospace scientist who served as the 11th president of
India from 2002 to 2007. He was born on 15 October
1931 and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. He
studied physics and aerospace engineering.

He was among India’s best-known scientists before he became the country’s

President. He worked for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) where he
helped launch India’s first satellites into orbit. Later, Kalam worked on developing
missiles and other strategic weapons; he was widely regarded as a national hero
for leading India’s nuclear weapons tests in 1998.
He was popular as the missile man of India and People’s President.
He was the recipient of many prestigious awards such as Padma Bhushan in 1981,
Padma Vibhushan in 1990, and the highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna in 1997.
During the Wharton India Economic Forum in Philadelphia, Kalam spoke with India
Knowledge@Wharton about his career as a scientist, his vision for India’s future,
and the most important traits for leaders, among other issues.
 About knowledge
“Learning gives creativity.
Creativity leads to thinking.
Thinking provides knowledge.
Knowledge makes you great.”
 Biggest differences between India as it was then (1931) and India today?
Since then I have orbited the sun 76 times
The Second World War coming to an end
India attain her freedom in August 1947
Worked with visionaries like Prof. Vikram Sarabhai

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 UG III Semester English By Pavan Kommaddi
Lecturer in English
I have seen the green revolution, the white revolution, and the telecom
revolution; I have also seen the growth of information and
communication technologies (ICT).
 About experience and Lessons learnt as a missile man
Kalam: One of the important lessons I learned in the space and missile
program was not just how to handle success but how to deal with failure.
 Guilty, about developing missiles and nuclear weapons
Kalam: I realize that for my country’s development, peace is essential.
Peace comes from strength — because strength respects strength.
 India’s President in July 2002, Leadership qualities
Kalam: I was elected President of India — from 2002 to 2007 —
through a well-structured election process. Any leadership — whether it is
political leadership or leadership in technology — a leader should have
six traits. What are these traits?
First, the leader must have vision. (Prediction about future)
Second, the leader must be able to travel into an unexplored path.
Third, the leader must know how to manage success, and even more
importantly, failure.
The fourth trait is that the leader should have the courage to make
decisions.
Fifth, the leader should have nobility in management. (Honesty)
Finally, the leader should work with integrity and succeed with integrity.
 Concept of “PURA”
Kalam: The concept of PURA — which stands for “Providing Urban
amenities in Rural Areas” — is about giving a cluster of villages physical,
electronic and knowledge connectivity
We planned about 7,000 PURAs for the country — including hill PURAs,
coastal PURAs and plains PURAs.
 Energy independent India by 2030
Kalam: Today fossil fuels dominate the energy sector throughout the
world. The World Energy Forum predicts that in five to eight decades, the
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 UG III Semester English By Pavan Kommaddi
Lecturer in English
fossil fuels will run out because these sources of energy are not
renewable.
So I set a goal of energy independence for my country. It’s a three-
dimensional approach.
First, solar power (CNT (Carbon Nano Tubes) composites that can increase the
efficiency of solar cells)
Second, nuclear energy (thorium based nuclear reactors)
The third focus area should be bio-fuels
 About Social Grids such as the knowledge grid, the health grid and e-
governance grid
 Knowledge grid empowers the village citizens with skill and
knowledge.
 The health grid brings the super-specialty healthcare that is
available in the cities to the doorsteps of rural citizens.
 The e-governance grid brings transparent governance to the
citizens.
All these grids lead to economic growth and social transformation.
 The biggest leadership challenge as India’s president.
Kalam: I returned the Office of Profit Bill to the Parliament. The reason
was that I felt there was no transparent system.
 What might you do differently if you could rewind and replay your years as President?
I would have liked the Rashtrapati Bhavan to be the first home in India to
be powered completely by solar energy.
 About favourite poem “The Vision”
I climbed and climbed
where is the peak, my Lord?
I ploughed and ploughed,
where is the knowledge treasure, my Lord?
I sailed and sailed,
Where is the island of peace, my Lord?
Almighty, bless my nation
with vision and sweat resulting into happiness.
***

7
 UG III Semester English By Pavan Kommaddi
Lecturer in English
Unit – III
NELSON MANDELA’S INTERVIEW WITH LARRY KING
Larry King was an American television and Radio host. Larry
King Live is an American talk show that was hosted by Larry
King, which ran from 1985 to 2010. He interviewed Mandela in
2000 about his release from prison after 27 years. King
declared that interviewing Mandela was one of the greatest
moments of his life.

Nelson Mandela was former South African President and civil

rights advocate. He dedicated his life to fighting for equality –
and ultimately helped topple (fall) South Africa’s racist system of
apartheid. Mandela fought against white domination in South
Africa. He fought for the rights of African People with Non-
Violence like Mahatma Gandhi in India.
He was awarded with Bharat Ratna in the year 1990 and Nobel Peace Prize in
1993.
SUMMARY
The interview majorly deals with three things about Mandela’s life
- Reason for Imprisonment
- Life in Imprisonment
- Life after release from prison

Reason for Imprisonment

Nelson Mandela joined African National Congress (ANC) in 1944 and worked as
a lawyer from 1952. He fought for freedom, justice and equality of the black
South African People and was called a terrorist. He was arrested and sentenced
to death.

During the trail of Mandela in the court great people like Lord Hume in London,
the president of the Soviet Union, the president of Indian and many other made
representation that a death sentence should not be imposed on Nelson Mandela.
So, the court gave Mandela life imprisonment on June 12, 1964.

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 UG III Semester English By Pavan Kommaddi
Lecturer in English
Life during Imprisonment

During the time of his imprisonment they used to crush stones. They used to make
gravel for the roads. They used to go to the quarry and dug a quarry for the
roads. They used to work near the rubbish dump. They could get the newspapers
from the dump and clean them. They used to read them in the evening in prison
and know things outside the prison.

The treatment, at first, was very bad for all of them in the prison. They had to
fight for better treatment. As a result of the fight their situation improved. They
staged number of hunger strikes. It was their best weapons. The International Red
Cross helped the prisoners in many ways. It fought to protect the rights of
prisoners like going for morning walks if they wanted, and could go to the wash
rooms without restrictions.

Mandela could read the literature of Russian writer Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”,
the biographies and history. He had time to sit down and think. He had the
opportunity to examine his past.

Some wardens thought they should be tough on the prisoners to save white
supremacy. Some other wardens thought that they had to be very careful. They
thought that if the blacks ever form government, they treat them well. They
wanted to take the advantage and get benefit.

Life after release from prison

According to Mandela, President F.W. de Klerk has a place in history. Klerk

became the South African President in 1989 and lifted the ban on African
National Congress on February 11, 1990. He ordered the release of Mandela
after 27 years as a political prisoner.

Mandela asked them to give him three more weeks to stay back in the prison as
his men could make arrangements for welcoming him properly.

Before he went to jail, he was called a terrorist. When he came out of jail, many
people embraced him, including his enemies. People those who are struggling for

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 UG III Semester English By Pavan Kommaddi
Lecturer in English
liberation in their country is called terrorists. He tells them that he was also called
a terrorist, but he was admired by very people who called him terrorist.

The new national flag of the Republic of South Africa was unfurled on 26 th April
1994, making the newly born democracy in the world. Mandela said that he did
not want to become the first black president of South Africa at the age of 75. He
was forced to become the president after their leader Oliver Tambo’s death.
Mandela was elected the President of South Africa with a thumping majority in
the country’s multiracial parliamentary elections held in 1994. He served as the
President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999 as a great leader, statesman and
philanthropist.

Mandela’s name is synonymous to forgiveness. He will be remembered to have

lived and died, loving and forgiving. While sharing his life experience with Larry
King, Mandela rightly said: “Forgiveness is a powerful weapon which liberates
the soul and removes fear.”

***

10
 UG III Semester English By Pavan Kommaddi
Lecturer in English
Unit – IV
JRD Tata’s Interview with T.N. Ninan
Host/INTERVIEWER: T.N. Ninan is the Chairman of Business
Standard Ltd. During a quarter century at the helm of different
publications, he has been the editor of Business Standard, the
Economic Times, and Business World. He was also the executive
editor at India Today.

Guest/INTERVIEWEE: Jahangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (1904 – 1993) was

a Non-resident Indian aviator, industrialist, entrepreneur and chairman of Tata
Group.

His mother Suzanne Brière was the first woman in India to

drive a car and, in 1929; JRD became the first licensed pilot in
India. He received two of India's highest civilian awards
the Padma Vibhushan in the year 1955 and the Bharat
Ratna in the year 1992.

SUMMARY

This interview was between JRD Tata and India Today Executive Editor T.N.
Ninan. The following are the main aspects discussed in the interview.

When Ninan asked to start by looking back, what he thought were the major
changes in Indian business in the 50 years. He replied that the conditions were
very different what they became today. There was no licencing system, so there
was nobody to bribe. Business was reasonably honest. The taxes were
reasonable. So there was no great inducement to evade taxes. But now the
government needed money to run elections. The whole culture changed. Along
with this punitive taxes came into existence. The licence system entered. Taxes
became heavy. As a result tax evasion, black-marketing and corruption erupted.

When Ninan asked him if he criticised V.P Singh’s took strong action on corrupt
elements, he replied that it had to be done in a dignified and fair way. What
happened to Kirloskar was an outrage on human dignity.

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 UG III Semester English By Pavan Kommaddi
Lecturer in English
When asked about the Voltas case, JRD said that Voltas manufactures air-
conditioners. The government charged heavy excise duty on air-conditioners
made in the organised sector. The smaller sector was not charged excise duty at
all, or not much duty. And in a very competitive market, they had to close down
or sell? So they tried and find some way in without breaking the law. Their
lawyers advised them, that’s how it was done.

When asked to what extent he had achieved what he set out to achieve in
industry, he said that he had been very frustrated. When he was young he was
an angry young man: they were under foreign rule, people were oppressed. Now
he was an angry old man because of all the opportunities that had been missed.
He said the biggest frustration apart from business was that he was first one to
raise his voice against population, but Nehru said that large population is the
greatest source of strength of any country.

JRD didn’t argue with Nehru since he was not interested. Indira Gandhi later
developed this similar little polite way of telling Tata to shut up.

When asked why the only time he was not frustrated with T.T. Krishnamachari, he
said that he was a terrible man, very authoritarian. He ignored the principle of
socialism and did what he thought was right. He is the one who encouraged
TELCO to manufacture trucks

Tata expressed his views about the great personalities in Indian business, G.D.
Birla and Dhirubhai Ambani. He said that Birla was a man of vision and Ambani
had tremendous drive, tremendous capability and novelty of ideas.

When questioned if Ratan Tata was going to be the successor as chairman of

Tata Sons, the mother company. He simply said that it could be interpreted but
he died or retired, the chairman of Tata Sons would be appointed by the board.
***

12
 UG III Semester English By Pavan Kommaddi
Lecturer in English
Unit – V (Speech)
YOU’VE GOT TO FIND WHAT YOU LOVE
- Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

Steven Paul Jobs was the chairman, CEO and co-founder of

Apple computer. He is widely regarded as a pioneer of the
personal computer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s. The
present speech ‘You’ve Got to Find What You Love’ was his
commencement address to the graduates of Stanford
University in the USA in 2005.

In his speech he shared three stories from his life that illustrated his guiding
principles
 Do what you love
 Indulge (utilize) your curiosity
 Trust intuition (Insight) and pursue your passion

THE FIRST STORY IS ABOUT CONNECTING DOTS: (This quote tells us that
everything happens for a reason.)

In this story Jobs tells about his birth and an anecdote about dropping out of
college.

He urges the students to trust themselves and take challenges in things that might
not seem to be. Jobs himself took a chance when he dropped out of college and
believed things will work out eventually, even at that moment his sleeping and
eating condition were not good.

He takes another chance when he decides to take a

calligraphy (Serif & Sans serif) class. He found the class
interesting. Although he did not know where it would lead
him, later on this interest led him to designing the first
Macintosh Computer with beautiful typography.

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 UG III Semester English By Pavan Kommaddi
Lecturer in English
THE SECOND STORY IS ABOUT LOVE AND LOSS:
He conveys to us that even if our efforts result in complete
disaster, we should continue believing in ourselves. It tells us
that we should love our work. Through this story he also
narrates the lessons learned from being fired by Apple in
1985.
When he got fired he did not give up expected life for how it was. Rather he
went on creating bigger and bigger things. He later found NeXT and Pixel
Company and fell in love with an amazing woman named Lawrence Powell who
has become his wife.
THE THIRD STORY IS ABOUT DEATH:
When Jobs was 17, he read a quote that went something like: “If you live each
day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.”
He was diagnosed with cancer in 2003 when he was 48. The doctors told him it
was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable. Later he had surgery and
he was fine. Steve Jobs says that no one wants to die. And yet death is
destination we all share. He called death as a life change agent. It clears out the
old to make way for the new. He says that one’s time is limited and advises us
not to waste it in living someone else’s life.
In concluding part of the speech, Jobs used the words from a publication called
‘The Whole Earth Catalog’ “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish” which means ‘Be ready to
try new things’.
Thus through this speech, Steve Jobs encouraged the students to be risky, strive
for what they want in their life, even if it means to be different.

***

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 YOGI VEMANA UNIVERSITY
B.A/B.Sc/B.Com/BBA DEGREE EXAMINATION

THIRD SEMESTER

ENGLISH PRAXIS COURSE-III MODEL PAPER

(A COURSE IN CONVERSATIONAL SKILLS)

(w.e.f 2020-2021 Admitted Batch)

Time: 3 Hrs Maximum: 75Marks

1. Answer any Three of the following questions. 3x5=15M

a) Why did Gandhi become fidgery, as the days passed, on his way to
London?

b) What was the first lesson in European etiquette that Gandhi learned?
c) What is a greeting? Explain in detail the types of greetings?

d) Imagine a situation where you have met a popular movie star. Construct a
dialogue of greeting each other and taking leave.

e) Write a conversation between two strangers at a conference Hall, introduce

themselves to each other.

f) Write a conversation between a medical representative introduces himself to a

doctor?

2. Answer any Three of the following questions. 3x5=15M

a) Why does Obama in his speech say that change has come to America?

b) Who is Ann Nixon cooper? What does Obama say abut her?

c) Write in your own words, Kalam’s experience of failure management by a

leader?

d) How according to Kalam prosperity will emerge in the rural environment?

e) You have some difficulty with English grammar. Make a request to your English
teacher asking him/her to help you?

f) Imagine that you have to pay the college tuition fee. How do you make a
request with your parents to pay your tuition fee?
3. Answer any Three of the following questions. 3x5=15M

a) Explain in brief the release of Mandela from prison?

b) Larry King says that Mandela had a remarkable life. How do you explain it?
c) Imagine, you are a BSNL Customer care executive. A customer wants to know
the latest offers: write a conversation between you and the customer, giving
information about latest offers of BSNL?
d) Imagine, you are at the Kadapa Old Bus stand .you want reach Yogi Vemana
University. Write a conversation between you and a stranger, asking for
information to reach Yogi Vemana University.

e) Write a dialogue Disagreeing with your friend, who is discussing the merits of
“Online Shopping”

f) Your friend Ashok is discussing the merits of Government Degree colleges. You
are Agreeing with him. Construct the dialogues between you and your friend.
4. Answer any Three of the following questions. 3x5=15M

a) From the time that he started his business , what according to JRD Tata are the
major changes in the Indian Business scenario?

b) How does Tata describe Birla?

c) Write a dialogue between two friends about the bad effect of smoking

d) Write a dialogue between a student and a teacher about which course to study
at vacations.

e) Write instructions to prepare tea.

f) How do you direct when your junior requests you to show the way to the library
in your college.
5. Answer any Three of the following questions. 3x5=15M

a) What was the first story that Steve Jobs narrated at the commencement?
Narrate in your own words.

b) “The only way to do great work is to love what you do” Explain ?

c) What is a Debate and write Important features of a debate?

d) Describe your native place?

e) Describe your latest mobile phone features in detail.

f) Plan a Role-play between you and your friend, who topped in the semester
exam. Congratulate him/her.